1. Field of the Invention PA1 2. Description of the Prior Art
The present invention relates to conveyor and trimming systems and more particularly to a hosiery trimming apparatus for trimming and removing loose yarn ends from articles of hosiery.
After hosiery articles such as socks are made and dyed, they are boarded on a boarding frame. A typical boarding machine includes a rotatable platform which has upstanding boarding frames or forms onto which the socks are individually stretched for inspection by an operator. As the platform rotates away from the operator, the socks are moved first to a drying station and then to a removal station where they are automatically removed from the forms and deposited flat on a conveyor with the toe in a forward position. In the manufacture of hosiery articles such as socks, there are always loose ends of yarn extending upwardly from the welt or top end of each sock which must be trimmed at some stage in the production process. Trimming is usually done manually after the socks leave the boarding machine. Such manual trimming is accomplished by stacking a bundle of socks by hand and running an electric trimmer somewhat resembling an electric shaver across the top or welt end of the bundle by hand.
To date, no satisfactory machine has been utilized to accomplish the trimming operation. Since manually handling hosiery articles to accomplish the trimming operation is time consuming and therefore expensive, there is a need for automating this operational step to make sock manufacturing more efficient. The present invention is directed to that critical need.